Hallmark is a specialty property and casualty insurance company.  During the  month of March 2020, Hallmark’s shares experienced a precipitous fall as a result of a series of alarming announcements.  First, on March 2, 2020, Hallmark issued a press release, announcing its decision to “exit from the Binding Primary Auto portfolio, which represented approximately $114 million of the Company’s gross written premiums for 2019.”  On this news, the price of Hallmark shares dropped $2.10, losing almost 15% of its value in only one day.  Next, on March 11, 2020, Hallmark announced it had fired its independent registered public accounting firm, BDO USA LLP, (“BDO”) citing to a disagreement over, among other things, Hallmark’s processes for estimating reserves for unpaid losses, internal controls over financial reporting and a potential impact on recorded amounts of the reserves for the previous reporting periods.  On this news, Hallmark shares fell from $8.10 to $5.71, a loss of almost 30% on a single day of trading. 

If you are a shareholder of Hallmark who suffered a loss, we encourage you to contact attorney Andrea Farah of Lowey Dannenberg at (914) 733-7256 or afarah@lowey.com to learn more about this investigation or to discuss your options.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Hallmark should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC.